The Mighty Eighth
by Blu Wolf 23
Summary: AU- The World is at war. The invincible Grimm War Machine controls a third of the planet. Now, The Eighth Air Force of Vale has been tasked with an impossible mission. They are to destroy the most powerful air force the world has ever seen. Follow pilots Ruby Rose and Velvet Scarlatina as they struggle to keep their comrades alive in the hell that is five miles above the Earth.
1. Callsigns

Chapter 1

Callsigns

Ruby Rose stepped off the bus along with her fellow pilots. Just a few days ago, after rigorous mental and physical examinations, they had been given their wings and were now being dropped off at Signal Airfield. From here, they would gather their crew and their aircraft before setting off to Beacon Air Force Base. A place they would call home for quite some time.

Ruby was dressed in tan slacks, black boots, a dark brown leather jacket adorned with various patches. Some required by regulation, but others were of her own choice and taste. Under the jacket was a dress shirt and tie, and around her neck was the only thing that distinguished her from the rest of the crowd. A crimson red scarf which flowed elegantly in the evening breeze.

She found her plane without too much trouble, the four engined beefy looking bomber was parked on the grass, the setting sun glinting off the windows of the cockpit. It had two turrets on either side of the nose, one on the top of the fuselage, another on the belly, two in the mid section of the fuselage, with the last being on the tail.

While she circled the plane, admiring its design, the rest of the crew arrived. They all shook hands and introduced themselves as a Ruby circled back around the plane to meet them.

"Are you the pilot?" A white haired girl wearing a light blue beret asked as she came into view.

"Yes siree." She replied.

"Lieutenant Weiss Schnee. Navigator." The girl said stiffening up.

"Take it easy Weiss. We're all friends here." Ruby said, patting her on the shoulder as she walked by. Their uniforms were identical, the same could be said for the rest of the crew, but they all had that one feature that made them stand out.

"Jaune?"

A boy with blonde hair turned and smiled.

"Ruby!" He exclaimed before the wind blew his orange scarf in his face.

Ruby chuckled as she walked over to talk to her friend.

"You my co-pilot?" She asked.

"That I am." He replied with a grin.

"Aaaand we're your waist gunners." A blonde haired girl said, stepping into the group with a black haired girl. Their uniforms were a bit different, they had leather pants as opposed to slacks. The blonde haired girl had a hat on with a flat bill, along with aviator sunglasses while the other girl wore the classic aviator cap and googles. Tied around the crook of her arm was a black bow, presumably for good luck.

"I'm Yang Xiao Long and this is Blake Belladonna." The blonde told her.

"Hello." The other girl said kindly.

"Nice to meet you both." Ruby told them, before turning to address the group.

"Everybody gather around!"

The crew circled up as introductions finished up.

"Lie Ren , I'll be in the Ball Turret." A young man told her.

His flight jacket had a green dragon on the back, and he wore a silver necklace with pink jewel pendant which he tucked into his jacket when he realized Ruby had noticed it.

"Nora Valkyrie, bombardier, reporting for duty!" A red headed girl exclaimed, jumping in front of Ruby. She had a band-aid over the bridge of her nose and bright pink earmuffs which she had resting on her neck at the moment.

Ruby giggled at her enthusiasm.

"At ease." She told her.

Another young man came up to her and waved.

"Sun Wukong, I'll be your tail gunner." He said, adjusting the goggles on his head. Sun also had a gold chain necklace, the pendant being a symbol that she didn't recognize at first.

She shook hands with him as a redhead dead girl skipped over, she wore a turtle neck under her aviator jacket and had a backpack slung over one shoulder.

"My name's Penny, your combat ready radio operator." She declared.

"Nice to meet you Penny." Ruby told her as someone tapped her shoulder.

She turned around to see a taller girl standing next to Jaune, the two had been talking earlier when they arrived. She had a beautiful golden headband in hair, most likely a family heirloom.

"Ruby, this is Pyrrha Nikos. She's the flight engineer and she'll be on top turret." Jaune explained.

"Jaune tells me your a very capable pilot." The young woman chimed in.

"Well I don't know about that-" Ruby replied.

"You were top of the class at Flight School." Jaune reminded her.

"True..." She muttered.

"Well, I look forward to working with you Ruby." Pyrrha said with an encouraging smile.

"Like wise." She replied before speaking to the group.

"Now that we're all acquainted, I think its time we settle something. Right here, right now. Callsigns."

Everyone sat down on the grass, although Weiss did so rather reluctantly. Not sure why they were lolly gagging when they should of been getting ready to make the trip to Beacon.

"Alright, how are we going to do this?" Ruby asked.

"Rank!" Yang suggested.

"Age!" Jaune exclaimed.

Ruby nodded, liking that idea.

"Ok, who's the youngest?"

Penny's hand shot up.

"Me!"

Sun chuckled.

"I've got one." He announced.

Everyone turned to look at him.

"Chatterbox." He suggested.

"I sat next to her on the bus on the way over here...we had lengthy conversation. Plus she's the radio operator, so it makes sense."

The others nodded in agreement, liking the name. Penny knew better then to complain, so she remained silent.

"Alright, who's next?" Ruby asked.

Birthday dates were tossed around. They had all been born the same year, except for Penny, so it came down to months and days and it was eventually decided that Nora was next.

"I'd like to be called Lady Boop." She told the group.

Yang shook her head.

"We have to pick your callsign."

There was a minute of silence before Ren spoke up.

"Bullseye. First time she went up as a bombardier, she hit a cow with a practice bomb."

There were some laughs, and it was decided. Bullseye was the winner.

"Next!" Jaune exclaimed.

"That would be me." Ruby told him.

"Flower power." Pyrrha suggested.

"What about Jewels!?" Penny asked.

"Giggles." Yang added.

"I like that one!" Jaune exclaimed.

"Me too, I changed my mind! Giggles!" Penny shouted.

"Little Red Riding Hood? Red for short?" Weiss asked, but the rest of the crew was chanting Giggles.

Ruby, true to her nickname, was chuckling through it all.

"Oh alright, Giggles wins." Weiss conceded.

The crew cheered and moved onto the next person.

"I guess it's my turn." Sun said nervously.

"Pretty Boy." Blake suggested.

A chorus of OHHHHH's rose up from the rest of the group.

"Abs! I've seen him with his shirt off you guys it's unbelievable." Penny told them.

Sun blushed as the rest of the group laughed.

"No no, it's Kaboose. He's in tail. It only makes sense." Nora told them.

Everyone nodded, liking that one a bit better. Callsigns weren't exactly supposed to be a compliment.

"Kaboose it is!" Ruby declared.

"I'm next you guys." Yang told the crew.

Suggestions filled the air.

"Blondie!" Pyrrha exclaimed.

"Rapuzel." Ren chimed in.

"Goldilocks." Blake said.

A chorus of yeahs followed, and it was decided.

"My turn." Weiss said flatly.

"Icetea!" Penny shouted.

"Wah?"The group asked.

"She's seems cool, I bet she can be sweet when she wants to be." She explained

"I did grow up in the northern parts of Vale." Weiss muttered.

"Don't know about that last part." Sun muttered.

"Snow Angel." Jaune suggested.

Weiss locked eyes with the boy, debating whether or not to go over and slap him.

"Any objections? Other ideas?" Ruby asked.

Silence.

"Alrighty then, Snow Angel it is. Who's next?"

Blake raised her hand.

Everyone started thinking, this one would be tough.

"Belle?" Ruby suggested, referring to her last name.

"Oh I don't know, Bookworm?" Weiss muttered.

"She read all the time in basic training."

"Kitten!" Yang exclaimed, recalling a memory from their nights as bunk mates in the barracks at basic training.

"She makes this purring sound when she sleeps, so much cuter then snoring."

Blake's eyes widened at the sound of her new nickname. Something Penny only seemed to notice. Despite this, there were laughs all around and the group moved onto their next victim.

"My turn." Jaune said, eager to see what the group had in store for him,

"No need for anyone to say anything I've already got one. Vomit Boy." Ruby told her crew.

"This guy threw up on his orientation flight, right after takeoff on one of the nicest days of the year." She continued.

Yang burst out laughing, and the rest of the group joined in except for Pyrrha who was doing her best not to laugh. Weiss wasn't laughing, but for another reason.

"Wait, and he's the pilot?" She grumbled.

"Co pilot." Jaune corrected.

"Oh great, just great." Weiss scoffed.

"Alright team, let's move on." Ruby told them, calling their attention back to the task at hand.

"I think I'm next." Ren told her.

Soon the brain storming began.

"Pinocchio!" Yang suggested, earning her a few odd looks.

"'Cause of his name." She explained.

"Romeo, he'll have to call up to us from below the plane. Like how Romeo called up to Juliet." Nora suggested.

"I like that one better." Penny added.

"Alright fine." Yang replied.

"One more team." Ruby told them before looking to Pyrrha.

"Just so you all know this is my second tour. I don't know if it'll help you pick a nickname, but I just thought you should know." She explained.

"Sensei, we should call you Sensei." Sun concluded

"No no, Sempai. It can mean mentor or senior, but in this case both work!" Penny told the group.

"Sounds good." Jaune replied.

The rest of the crew nodded in agreement.

"Alrighty then you guys, we have one more thing to do before we head off to Beacon!" Ruby said, standing up and walking to the nose of their aircraft. The rest of the crew got up and followed her.

"This beauty, this bouncing badass of a baby, needs a name. Suggestions?"

...

A.N- This is where you come in my dear readers! If you have an idea for a name, leave it in your review or PM me one. I'll pick my favorite and that will be the name of the bomber that carries the crew into battle! I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Can't wait to read your feedback and answer any questions.

Until next time!

Wolf out!


	2. Christening

Chapter 2

Christening

Jaune sang 'Magic Carpet Ride' during takeoff, much to Weiss' annoyance.

The flight to Beacon was nice and relaxed. The crew was able to get in the air before the rest of newbies, sparing them from waiting in line on the taxiway.

Yang peered out the open side of the plane's waist, allowing the wind to whip her hair around. Below, the City of Vale could be seen, from the shops to the waterfront. Boats blew their horns at the massive plane, prompting Ruby to rock the wings in acknowledgement.

As they left the city and crossed over the open countryside, Jaune tried to start up another song.

"It's a long way to Vale, my lady."

"It's a long way to go."

Sun joined in from the tail.

"It's a long way to Vale, my lady."

"To the sweetest girl I know!"

Pretty soon the rest of the crew had joined in, save for Weiss who had taken off her headset, hoping the roar of the engines would drown out Nora. Thankfully they did.

"So pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile!

"Smile, smile!"

"Smile boy that's the style!"

"Goodbye Mistral Region."

"Farewell Sanctum Square!"

"It's a long way to Vale, my lady

But my hearts right there!"

Weiss voice came crackling onto the radio.

"Control tower!"

Ruby flinched as they inadvertently buzzed Beacon's air traffic control tower. Missing the top of the structure by a couple feet, going a bit faster than they should have been going.

...

Colonel Ozpin sat at his desk, taking a sip from his cup of tea while he read a mission report from the last sortie. The man's calm demeanor and strong sense of responsibility had made it clear to his superiors that he was the one who would take the Eighth and build it up so that it could reach the lofty goals that it had been given.

The man's military history went back to the early days of military airpower. A fearless test pilot, Ozpin holds multiple altitude, endurance, and speed records that have yet to be matched by anyone, anywhere. Just before the war got underway, he was involved in a crash that left him paralyzed from the waist down. The aircraft he had been flying broke his previous speed record, but as they pulled him from the cockpit and carried him away, he looked fondly at the plane and remarked:

"She'll go faster."

Unable to fly, Ozpin was placed in command of fledgling unit that, when it was stood up here in Beacon, had just twenty men and no planes. In less then two years, he'd built one of the largest combat air forces the world had ever seen. One that rivaled the strength of the GAF. Now he could only hope it would be enough to reach into the heart of enemy territory and strike a devastating blow that would help bring the war to an end.

His train of thought was derailed as the windows shook as an aircraft thundered over head, obviously flying too low.

Colonel Ozpin sighed as a storm of curses erupted from outside his office.

Ozpin wheeled himself into the other room to see his colleague Glenda Goodwitch standing up with the front of her uniform drenched in coffee. A vicious scowl was on her face, like she was resisting the urge to stick her head out the window and yell at the plane that had buzzed them.

"Are you alright?" He asked, taking a sip of his tea.

"Peachy." She replied.

...

After an awkward, quiet landing, Weiss clambered up to cockpit as Ruby and Jaune powered the aircraft down.

"Do you need glasses?" She shrieked.

Neither of the pilots replied, preoccupied with flicking switches, checking gauges and ignoring their furious navigator.

"Do either of you need glasses? Because I'd be happy to get you BOTH a pair!" Weiss grumbled.

"With flying like that you're going to get us all killed!"

"It was an accident, it won't happen again. You have my word." Ruby told her flatly.

"It better not." The young woman replied, putting her beret on as she walked to the rear of the plane. Ruby watched her leave, a feeling of self doubt overwhelmed her.

"Soooo that noise we kept hearing during our climb, how should I describe it?" Jaune asked, a maintenance request form in his hand.

She snapped out her trance, turning to her copilot as she thought about the noise.

"Like an angry garden gnome with a hammer bashing up the cockpit." She told him.

Jaune chuckled and wrote the description down.

"Ok, I think that was the last thing we had to do."

Ruby nodded, but felt like she was forgetting something.

"Oh crap right, parking brake." She muttered, pulling a lever.

"Ok, now we're done."

...

Colonel Ozpin looked through the files of his newest arrivals. He began making mental notes of who to seek out. Some of there stories interested him and he wanted to know more. More then what the brief bland description under their picture gave him. He carefully removed the pictures from the files, tucking the files themselves into a drawer in his desk.

He would sort them later.

He then took the pictures to a giant black board, adorned with rows and rows of top down drawings of the Eighth's signature bombers. Next to the planes were the pictures of each bomber's crew and underneath the pictures, the name of the aircraft and it's tail number.

Traditionally, he would only know tail numbers for the time being. Each new crew was expected to have their aircraft's nose art completed and a name agreed upon for tonight's welcoming ceremony.

Ozpin sighed, putting down the pictures of the new arrivals.

Slowly he reached for an eraser that was attached to a meter stick and looked up, scanning the rows of planes until he found the one he was looking for.

The Mother of Invention

With one swipe he erased the name before dropping the eraser and quickly plucking the photos of the crew down and arranging them neatly in a pile before heading back over to his desk and pulling a box out from under it.

A box filled with dozens of stacks of pictures.

He thumbed through the stack slowly, ten pictures, ten stories. Each completely unique, reflecting the individuals whom those stories belonged to. Ten lives that were full of potential, prematurely extinguished.

Abigail, radio operator. She wanted to be a singer. Kept morale up with the introduction Karaoke Night. An activity that had become tradition not long after it's inception. She often sang comforting songs to injured or scared men. She even sang to a boy who was trapped in the ball turret. She sang to him right to the end, when his own plane crushed him during a belly landing.

David, flight engineer and top turret gunner. A young inventor, pushed by his parents to join up and continue the family tradition of military service. His skills with machinery landed him the spot of flight engineer, and his charm won him the affections of the left waist gunner.

Kirsten, waist gunner. Raised outside of Vale, this girl knew her way around guns. Placing first in the regional shooting competition for three years, she arguably would of done better in the top turret. This would of given her a wider field fire, allowing her to use her talent to fiercely defend her comrades and their aircraft. Despite this, she wracked up an impressive amount of kills as a waist gunner.

Oliver, pilot. A university student sucked up out of promising future by the prospect of becoming a hero to those who were subjected to the brutality of the Grimm. Originally he was going to be a doctor. At the end of the day, he wanted to help people.

Susana, ball turret gunner. One of the strongest advocates against the war, Susana hoped that by getting involved, she would contribute to a swifter end of the fighting. Encouraging her crew to understand the Grimm, and why they fight, rather then just hate them. Her opinions, however well grounded in fact and reason, were unpopular. Not because no one wanted to hear it, but because her arguments made too much sense.

Richard, bombardier. Driven by a strong sense of patriotism to join up, so much so that he lied about his age in order to get in. By the time Goodwitch found out, he had already bonded with his crew. Against his second in command's wishes, he allowed the boy to stay.

Neville, co pilot. A shy Faunus boy, never really said much. He joined up with his brother. Who was, arguably, more suited to being a solider. Despite this, he was an excellent pilot and officer. He kept his crew calm in their earlier missions, earning their respect send overriding their prejudiced opinions about his people.

Joseph, navigator. Joseph loved sweets, he loved giving sweets from his father's shop out to his crew mates and to children that often ran along the base permitter whenever the bombers or fighters went off on a sortie. His plans for after he returned home? He would go back to working for his father. He even wanted to open another shop right by the base. The boy had fallen in love with aviation.

Tucker, waist gunner. The comedian of the crew, often quipping at fighters that got too close to his aircraft before he tore them to shreds. Even though he had a mouth on him, the boy knew when to be serious. If anything, he kept his crew sane. Dropping a smart ass one liner when needed and stowing it when required.

Phoebe, tail gunner. Loved photography but volunteered for military duty after an early war air raid destroyed her studio. The Air Force public relations office loved her pictures and used them frequently on war bond posters and recruitment flyers.

He gently placed the pictures in the box before turning back to the board and

Only nine more to go.

"Colonel." A voice grumbled.

He turned to see his second in command standing his doorway, a file tucked under her arm.

"Yes?" He asked, turning to face her.

"Just got a wire from High Command, once the replacements arrive they want you to resume combat operations ASAP...the Grimm Air Force can't be allowed to breathe sir, I'm not sure what part of this you do to understand. We can't call off an entire week of missions because a few airmen didn't come back."

"One hundred we lost one hundred airmen on our last mission."

"Only ten planes sir. Minimal losses as far as I'm concerned...same could be said for high command." She retorted.

Ozpin turned back around, tending to his board.

"This is war Colonel. People die, stopping us from completing our mission won't change that. It'll only drag things out, and more people will die. Either way, someone has to die. If that bothers you-"

"What bothers me, Ms. Goodwitch, is not the fact that people will die. It is the fact that you, as well as our superiors are seemingly okay with it." He replied.

...

Ruby leaned against her plane, standing by Ren as he carefully painted the bomber's nose art onto its metal skin.

"So Ruby, what's your story? What made you sign up and come out here?" He asked.

"Whelp, after I my mom died I moved in with my Uncle Qrow. He owned a crop dusting biplane. It was a two seater, so on the weekend he would take me with him on a job. We'd dust the crops as fast as we could and then, if we didn't have another field to visit, he'd fly out over the bay and he'd teach me how to fly." She began.

"The older I got, the more complicated the lessons. At first it was just up, down, bank left, bank right. A few years later I was worrying about trim, airspeed, and coordinated turns. I never stopped loving flying though. I got so good that I started taking jobs for my uncle on days when he was too tired from his second job."

"What'd he do?" Ren asked.

"He was a teacher." She replied.

Ren nodded and allowed her to continue.

"I told him, one day, we'd save up enough money to get a twin engine plane just for the two of us. We'd quit the crop dusting business, load up that plane with our stuff and we'd fly off and visit some place nice." She smiled at the thought.

"He had this saying, a mile of road will get you nowhere, but a mile of runway will take you anywhere."

Her inspired expression turned somber.

"Then the war came. Once the Grimm started flying into Vale with their bombers, we had to put our dream on hold. After a fight, I went downtown, took my physical and got cleared for flight school. It was a surprise for the recruiter, he thought I'd go into the army like my mom."

"Your mom was in the army?" Ren asked.

His crew mate nodded.

"She was an officer in 4th Infantry during the Great War, she fought in the trenches. Probably saw things that most people would never want to see. It rained a lot out there so she wore this white cloak to keep warm and dry."

The young woman shook her head, realizing she was on a tangent.

"Anyways, after I was born, my dad walked out on her. He couldn't get a good night sleep because of her nightmares, and how she would zone out sometimes. One time she dropped me because of it. He tried to take me with him, but my uncle made sure that didn't happen."

Ren bent down towards one of the cans of paint and dipped his paintbrush in it.

"He call the cops?"

"No, he beat the living crap out of him."

"Oh."

"Yeah...after all that, my mom and my uncle raised me until my mom got sick. Turns out the gas the army used to kill the plants the enemy used for cover didn't just kill plants. It gave people cancer. One night, she called my uncle into her room and made him swear that he'd do everything in his power to keep me out of the military. The next morning, he told me that mommy had went to heaven."

Ren put down his paint brush and turned to face his comrade.

"I'm sorry." He told her.

"Not your fault." She replied, gaze cast downwards.

"Still." He countered.

She looked up at him, a mix of emotions in her silver eyes.

"I'm gonna go get some food, you want anything?" She asked.

"I'll eat whatever you bring me." He told her.

She snickered and walked off.

"Alrighty then..."

"Not literally!" Ren called before picking up his brush and returning to his work.

...

Velvet Scarlatina was on final approach for landing at Forever Fall Air Force Base, it had been a long flight from Atlas and she was ready to get out the cramped cockpit of her fighter and get some grub.

Her plane, an older fighter from the beginning of the war, loved to misbehave. It was known as a Hanger Queen by ground crews because of its terrible maintenance record. Despite this, she was proud to be flying a fighter. This plane was hers, and not a lot of Faunus could say that. Most assumed that Faunus wouldn't of been able to prove themselves capable of flying at all, but she had proven many many people wrong and was looking forward to continuing the trend.

After a small bounce, Velvet found herself on the ground. She opened the canopy as she turned off the runway, allowing a cool breeze to flow into the otherwise stuffy cockpit. She noticed that her wingman, Adam, had already landed and was standing by his plane.

As she pulled into her parking space, he walked over. By the time she had shut her aircraft down, he was standing by the tail waiting for her to join him.

"Grimm Reaper huh?" One of the ground personnel asked, gesturing to the fighter's nose art. A figure in a black fur cloak, holding a smoking fifty caliber machine gun in each hand. Where the face would of been wad a flaming skull with black eyes. Underneath the image was the phrase 'Grimm Reaper' in blood red letters.

"Yeah, one of the guys at my old base painted it on for me." Velvet explained as she climbed out of the cockpit.

"Bad ass." The man said with a nod before retuning to his duties.

"You always liked flying a bit slower eh Rabbit?" Adam said as she stepped off her plane's wing.

"I'm always zipping around when we're on mission. Sometimes I find it nice to slow down once and awhile." She told him.

"Fair enough." Her wingman said with a shrug.

The two turned and began walking down the flight line as her stomach growled.

"Ugh...I hope they have a decent cook here." She grumbled, clutching her stomach.

"That would be nice." Her comrade replied before looking to the row of fighters they were walking by.

"People like Grapes." He said, turning to his friend.

"No duh." She replied.

"That's not what I meant, look." He told her, pointing to the phrase written in purple cursive lettering across the nose of a fighter. Above the phrase was the image of a woman in a toga, eating grapes from the vine while laying on a marble bench.

"Oh jeez." Velvet muttered as they continued along the flight line.

"Look at that one." She said pointing to another plane.

Painted on its nose was a angry looking cat wearing a infantry helmet and had a cigar hanging from its mouth. It sat by a group of empty whiskey bottles and spent fifty caliber shells. Under the image were the blocky yellow letters that spelled out the phrase

Joe the Cat

"Two planes ahead, check that one out." Adam told her.

The image was of a blue marlin jumping out of the water with a hook stick in its lip, it's sword like nose running through a black wolf that was on its back. Underneath the image in multicolored lettering was the word

FISH!

"Unusual, but intimidating." Velvet said with a nod as a man walked up to them.

"Ma'am." He said saluting her.

Velvet noticed his lower rank and set about correcting him.

"Sergeant, I don't believe we're supposed to salute each other on the flight line.

His eyes went wide, she could tell he was embarrassed and quickly saluted him so that he could drop his own.

"My apologies ma'am." He stammered.

"Just remember for next time alright?" She instructed.

"Of course." He replied.

"Now, back to business. You were looking for me I presume?" She asked.

"Yes ma'am, the base commander received a wire from Colonel Ozpin. He's putting you in charge of all future bomber escort missions. Congratulations."

Velvet tried to hide her shock.

"Thanks." She murmured.

"If, uh, you don't mind ma'am. I'd like to ask that the next time you go up, keep a close eye on a bomber called The Galavanting Gents...my brother is their radio operator."

Velvet shook off the sense of fear that seized her and nodded.

"I'll watch after them." She told him.

"Thank you, anyways, these pilots will be flying apart of your flight. The rest will be assigned to other flight leaders and the flight leaders report to you." The young man said, handing her a clip board which she took from him slowly. Hoping to hide her shaking hands.

"Good hunting." The sergeant said before walking off.

Velvet looked through the list of pilots, audibly cursing as she read their names.

"What?" Adam asked.

"The guys from flight school." She said handing him the board.

"Oh great." He grumbled before handing it back to her as they started walking towards the mess hall.

"Are you gonna really look after that one plane?" He asked her.

"I'm going to look after all of them." She replied sternly.

...

Beacon Air Force Base's newest arrivals were gathered outside of one of the base's hangars. They all sat in fold out chairs that were facing towards the runway. Their bombers, adorned with new nose art, sat on the grass behind a makeshift platform with a ramp, presumably to be used by Colonel Ozpin.

The airmen quietly conversed amongst themselves while waiting. Ruby had made sure to round up the crew well ahead of time so that they could all sit together. Right now, getting them to bond was the most important thing. If they were going to operate effectively, they needed to trust and care for one another.

"So Jaune, tell us your life story." Nora said, a bit of goofiness in her voice.

Arc puffed out his chest and deepened his voice.

"When I was a boy..."

"Oh brother." Weiss muttered.

Yang elbowed her in the side.

"Don't interrupt." She scolded

"I cut down my father's favorite cherry tree, and when he asked me: 'Son, did you cut down this tree?' I said: 'Father, I cannot tell a lie. Yes, I cut down this tree.'"

"Did you get in trouble?" Ruby asked.

"No, instead my father told me: 'One day, you'll be president!'"

This prompted some eye rolling and stifled chuckles.

"Okay, seriously though, what brought you here Jauney boy?" Sun asked.

"My grandfather was Vale's first fighter ace."

"I thought we agreed you were going to be serious." Weiss chided.

"I am being serious!" Jaune protested.

Blake quickly chimed in.

"Travis 'Ace' Arc was Vale's first fighter ace, flying in the Great War he shot down Victor Wulfe. A Faunus fighter ace and went on to claim 35 kills and earned several medals including the Medal of Valor, Vale's highest combat award. However recent estimates show the number of kills he had is actually around twenty."

All eyes were now on her.

"How did you know that?" Jaune asked her.

"I read a lot when I was a kid." She replied.

Weiss looked satisfied with the information that had been given to her and looked to Jaune.

"Continue."

"My grandpa was a fighter ace, but my dad ended up bring born in peacetime. He loved my grandpa's stories and practically idolized him when he was kid. He introduced the family to aviation and my dad ended up opening a business that ferried people all over Vale using planes. Then I was born, my dad had big hopes for me, he thought I was going to set the next big milestone for the family, but then the war started. He told me how it was my duty to follow in my grandfather's footsteps, serve my country and be the best person I can be."

"Did you want to do it though?" Penny asked.

"Well I wanted to make my Dad proud and..."

"Jaune, did you want to join the military. Yes or no." Penny asked again, a bit more sternly this time.

"No." He said flatly.

"I did it because I thought it was expected of me."

Weiss' hard gaze softened a bit, something Ruby noticed.

"What did your grandfather think?" Pyrrha asked.

"He was furious with my dad for pressing me into the service. He said that some people aren't cut out for the life style. He said not everybody is sound with the prospect of killing someone. He was afraid I'd come back...different. If I come back at all."

"Well your flying a bomber, so your not technically going to be killing anyone." Yang told him.

"Yeah, just making sure Nora gets to drop thousands of pounds of explosives on them." He muttered.

"None of that matters." Weiss told him.

"Excuse me?" Jaune asked.

"None of that matters Jaune. What your father wanted you to do. What your grandfather thinks will happen to you. You're here now, for whatever reason, and we're going to take care of you and each other. You understand me?" She asked.

He nodded slowly.

"Good."

"ATTENTION!"

They all stood up and shut up as they saw a tall blonde woman walk up the ramp and onto the platform followed by a grey haired man in a wheel chair.

"AT EASE!" She bellowed as they reached the center of the platform before turning to the man in the chair, who was holding a microphone.

"They're all yours sir."

"Thank you Colonel." He whispered before addressing the airmen.

"Good evening everyone. Please be seated, feel free to relax and make yourselves comfortable."

Everyone sat down in unison, they're attention focused on their commanding officer.

"I am Colonel Ozpin and standing next to me is my second in command Colonel Goodwitch. We are here to formally welcome you to the Eight Air Force's 58th Bomb Group. Your mission over the course of your time here is to cripple or destroy the Grimm Air Force. It will not be an easy mission, but it is imperative to bringing this war to swift end." He began.

"Your targets will range from airfields to factories. Your routes will take you straight through the heart of enemy territory. Discipline will be required when facing the enemy. By staying in formation, you will be able to protect each other with your guns' overlapping fields of fire." He explained.

"I trust that you will all do your very best in the air. You've been well trained, well equipped and well prepared for the road ahead. All that I can offer you now is my best wishes. Someday soon, we'll all be able to go home. Until then, fight hard and fight well."

The airmen clapped as Goodwitch was given the microphone.

"When the name of your aircraft is called, please stand and remain standing until I am finished." She instructed.

"Fake AH Crew."

They ten individuals stood as instructed.

A light was cast onto one of the bombers.

It's name was in white cursive lettering and it's symbol was a simple green star inside a black circle.

Goodwitch sighed as she read the next one.

"Tease it."

Another crew stood up. They had no nose art, just the name of their aircraft in sky blue writing.

"Haywood Airlines."

The nose art for this one was picture of a cubed globe with a little golden plane wrapping around it. The cursive lettering was golden, like the crown of a king.

"Blood Gulch Bombardiers."

Above the white blocky text was a stylized bomb with the word Andy scrawled across the warhead with two crossed flags behind it. One red and one blue.

"Crescent Rose."

"That's us!" Ruby whispered, getting her crew to stand.

The unseen spotlight turned to their bomber revealing its stunning nose art.

A female figure in a white cloak, captured mid leap, she held a crimson scythe which was angled back like she was ready to strike at the unseen foe she was jumping towards. Behind her was the grey shattered moon that hung in Vale's night sky. Rose petals fluttered from the woman's body, giving a outline to her flight path.

"Impressive." Ozpin muttered.

Ruby turned to look at Ren, he grinned as she smiled warmly at him.

The rest of the crews were introduced, their planes named off. It took quite awhile but eventually they were able to get through them all. When it was all said and done, the mic was handed back to Ozpin.

"Look around, these are the people you ate going to have to depend on for the duration of your tour. Learn their faces, their names, and their stories. Take care of them, and they will take care of you. We're all in this together now. No point in staying strangers. Now then, I suggest you all head to bed. Tomorrow's mission will require well rested airmen." He told them, looking to Goodwitch.

"ATTENTION!" She barked.

They all sprang to their feet as Ozpin wheeled himself off.

Once he was out of sight, Goodwitch dismissed them before departing as well.

...

The crew of Crescent Rose showered before heading to their barracks. Contrary to regulation, Ozpin had crews sleep with each other rather then be separated based on whether they were enlisted or an officer.

Ruby sat on her bed, which was closest to the door. Her cot was fairly uncomfortable but her sleeping bag was doing an excellent job of keeping her warm.

Across from her, Jaune was buttoning up his one piece pajama, complete with feet! Which Ruby found unbelievably cute. To her right was Weiss who was reviewing her charts, trying to guess as to where their mission will take them. Next to her was Nora who was lying on her belly and talking to Ren who was directly across from her. In between Jaune and Ren was Penny who was tucking herself in. Blake, who was reading a little black book, was across from Yang who was trying converse with her.

This must of happened to Blake a lot because she was responding just enough to keep Yang from thinking she was trying to ignore her.

Finally at the far end of the barracks was Pyrrha and Sun. Pyrrha must of been trying to sleep, as she was turned away from the rest of the crew while Sun, who was across from her, was making sure his equipment was in order for tomorrow morning.

"Figure anything out Weiss?" Nora asked.

"There's a hundred different possibilities, and I really don't feel like counting anymore." She grumbled falling back onto her cot.

"They'll tell us tomorrow morning at the briefing, if they even send us." Ruby told her.

"Ozpin told everyone to get some sleep, so they must be planning to send us." Penny reasoned.

"He could of just been saying that as a blanket statement. You know, just to be thorough." Yang added.

"That would make sense." Jaune told the red head girl, climbing into his sleeping bag.

"Maybe Pyrrha would know." Ruby told them.

"I don't think she wants to talk right now." Blake warned, looking up from her reading.

"Yeah, I think she's asleep." Sun added.

"Ruby, could you hit the lights?" Ren asked.

"Everybody ready for bed?" The young woman asked, hopping out of her sleeping bag and walking over to the light switch.

Everyone gave some sign that they were indeed ready to sleep and began getting comfortable.

"Alrighty then, lights out." Ruby said, hitting the switch and allowing darkness to envelope the room.

...

On the far side of the room, Pyrrha stated at the metal wall of the barracks.

After saying their good nights, the crew got surprisingly quiet.

Save for Yang's snoring.

Pyrrha continued to stare into the darkness, listening to crickets chirp as her mind became hazy. The sound of crickets was quickly replaced by a terrifying:

SHREEEIK

Metal was being ripped apart, a sound that caused her to sit up and start hyperventilating. The wall of the barracks was torn away, revealing the night sky, filled anti aircraft fire and the bright beams of a search lights, she turned around as three individuals ran up to her from the other side of the...fuselage.

One of their heads had been split open by shrapnel, in the dim red light of the bomber's interior she could see the anguished look on his face. Another had his arm served at the elbow, he called for help as he struggled to put his parachute.

The third was on fire and ran past her, diving out of the plane's broken structure with blood curdling cry for his mother.

She followed, feeling the plane got into a dive. As she fell away from the aircraft, which was breaking apart as it spun towards the ground, it exploded, the fireball blinding her as she fell towards the earth.

"PYRRHA!" A voice shouted.

...

She was on the ground, kicking, flailing and screaming when Ruby ran over to her. It was one in the morning and the rest of the crew was sitting up in their cots, clearly disturbed by what was going on.

Ruby woke her comrade up, a flashlight in one hand and shaking her arm with her free one.

"Pyrrha!" She shouted as the girl struggled to pry her eyes open.

Her eyes snapped open and she reached for the pistol that wasn't holstered at her side as she scrambled away from her crew mate, aiming her non existent side arm at her.

"Get away from me!" She shouted.

"Pyrrha!" Ruby said, trying to approach her.

"I SAID GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!" She screamed.

Ruby got onto her knees as someone flicked on the lights.

"Pyrrha, come on back to us. You're safe. I don't know where you think you are, but you are here with us. You're safe." She told her.

The young woman's facial expression changed and she allowed her arm to drop.

She looked visibly ill.

"I-I'm sorry." She croaked.

"You were having a nightmare. Whatever you saw, it wasn't real." Ruby told her, crawling to her side and sitting next to her.

Pyrrha stared at the ground as Ruby put an arm around her, pulling her head onto her shoulder.

"Right...a nightmare." She muttered.

...

A.N- That'll do it for this chapter! Thank you guys for all the positive reviews so far! I'm glad to hear that this idea has such an interesting appeal. Also thanks to all your awesome naming suggestions. It was very difficult to decide, but in the end it was MoRGzY1's argument that got me to choose Crescent Rose

"The plane could be called Crescent Rose seeing as Ruby's the pilot, besides a the crescent shape is similar to an arc so it could be that its a play on ruby and Jaune's surnames seeing as they are the pilot and the co-pilot."

For the other name submitters, fear not! I will try to use your suggestions for other bombers in future chapters. As of a few nights ago, l have the entire story planned out so I have a good idea about what's going to happen in each chapter and how long this thing will be.

In response to Anonymous-1's review, there probably will be some pairings in later chapters but my main goal will be getting the crew to bond as a whole above anything else. When the romance comes, it won't take over the story.

Well, that's all I have to say. I hope you all enjoyed reading this update and I look forward to reading your reviews and answering your questions!

Until next time

Wolf out!


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